Method and apparatus for controlling wlan bearer

ABSTRACT

A method for controlling a wireless local area network (WLAN) bearer is provided. The method includes a base station receives information including at least one of WLAN information of a WLAN node, WLAN aggregation response information, WLAN aggregation update response information, WLAN aggregation update information and a WLAN capability of UE. According to the received information, the base station instructs the UE to perform traffic steering between an E-UTRAN and the WLAN, or instructs the UE to perform control processing for the EUTRAN and WLAN aggregation. By using the present disclosure, efficiency of WLAN bearer control is improved.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)

This application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. §119(a) of a Chinesepatent application filed on Aug. 10, 2015 in the Chinese IntellectualProperty Office and assigned Serial number 201510488037.8, and of aChinese patent application filed on Nov. 6, 2015 in the ChineseIntellectual Property Office and assigned Serial number 201510752643.6,the entire disclosure of each of which is hereby incorporated byreference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to wireless communication technologies.More particularly, the present disclosure relates to a method andapparatus for controlling a wireless local area network (WLAN) bearer.

BACKGROUND

Currently, mobile communication technologies tend to provide high-ratemultimedia services increasingly. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagramillustrating a system architecture evolution (SAE) system according tothe related art.

In FIG. 1, a user equipment (UE) 101 is a terminal device for receivingdata. An evolved universal terrestrial radio access network (E-UTRAN)102 is a radio access network which includes a base station, e.g. aneNodeB/NodeB for providing a radio network interface for the UE. Amobile management entity (MME) 103 is adapted to manage mobilitycontexts, session contexts and security information of the UE. A servinggateway (SGW) 104 is adapted to provide functions of a subscriber plane.The MME 103 and the SGW 104 may be in the same physical entity. A packetgateway (PGW) 105 is adapted to implement charging and legal monitoringfunctions. The PGW 105 and the SGW 104 may be in the same physicalentity. A policy and charging rules function (PCRF) 106 is adapted toprovide quality of service (QoS) policies and charging rules. A generalpacket radio service (GPRS) supporting node (SGSN) 108 is a network nodedevice for providing routing for data transmission in a universal mobiletelecommunications system (UMTS). A home subscriber server (HSS) 109 isa home sub-system of the UE and is adapted to protect user informationincluding the current location of the UE, the address of a serving node,user security information and packet data contexts of the UE.

In networks of the related art, it is not defined how to select WLANnodes for offloading UE data under the control of the base station.

The above information is presented as background information only toassist with an understanding of the present disclosure. No determinationhas been made, and no assertion is made, as to whether any of the abovemight be applicable as prior art with regard to the present disclosure.

SUMMARY

Aspects of the present disclosure are to address at least theabove-mentioned problems and/or disadvantages and to provide at leastthe advantages described below. Accordingly, an aspect of the presentdisclosure is to provide a method for controlling a wireless local areanetwork (WLAN) bearer.

In accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure, a method forcontrolling a WLAN bearer is provided. The method includes receiving, bya base station, information including at least one of WLAN informationof a WLAN node, WLAN aggregation response information, WLAN aggregationupdate response information, WLAN aggregation update information and aWLAN capability of user equipment (UE), and instructing, by the basestation, the UE to perform traffic steering between an evolved universalterrestrial radio access network (E-UTRAN) and the WLAN, or instructing,by the base station, the UE to perform control processing for the EUTRANand WLAN aggregation, according to the received information.

The WLAN information of the WLAN node may include at least one of a WLANidentifier, a public land mobile network (PLMN) identifier, a supportedmaximum rate, a basic service set (BSS) load/channel utilization rate,backhaul uplink/downlink available bandwidth, the number of users, useraverage throughput, WLAN total available capacity, WLAN identifiers ofadjacent or nearby WLAN nodes, WLAN quality of service (QoS) informationsupported by the WLAN node and UE average access delay.

The WLAN QoS information may include whether QoS is supported and/orsupported QoS mechanism.

Before the base station receives the information, the method may includesending, by the base station, WLAN aggregation request information orWLAN aggregation update information to a WLAN termination (WT),receiving, by the base station, WLAN aggregation response information orWLAN aggregation update response information from the WT.

The WLAN aggregation request information or WLAN aggregation updateinformation may include at least one of a WLAN identifier of each WLANnode of the WLAN aggregation selected for the UE, an identifier of aregistered PLMN of the UE and an identifier of an equivalent PLMN of theregistered PLMN, an identifier of the UE, an evolved node B (eNB) Xw UEidentifier (ID), information of offload bearer on the base station side,a WLAN capability of the UE, location information of the UE, a WLANaggregation threshold condition, WLAN measurement information of the UE,and WLAN information of a WLAN node associated with the UE.

The WLAN aggregation response information or the WLAN aggregation updateresponse information may include at least one of WLAN aggregationpreparing information, a WT Xw UE ID, information of the offloadedbearer on the WT side, and information of that the UE has establishedassociation. When the WLAN aggregation response information may includethe WLAN aggregation preparing information, the method further mayinclude sending, by the base station, the WLAN aggregation preparinginformation to the UE as one item of WLAN aggregation configurationinformation to establish the WLAN aggregation.

The WLAN aggregation preparing information may include at least one of anode identifier list of the WLAN aggregation, Internet protocol (IP)addresses reserved for the UE, a PLMN identifier, and the identifier ofthe UE.

Each WLAN node indicated in the node identifier list of the WLANaggregation may match at least one of a WLAN node within a managementscope of the WT of the WLAN aggregation, a WLAN node under theregistered PLMN of the UE or the equivalent PLMN of the registered PLMN,a WLAN node with which the UE is allowed to associate or re-associate inthe WLAN aggregation, and a WLAN node indicated in a node identifierlist of the WLAN aggregation which is selected by the WT for the UE andis obtained by the base station from the WT.

A mode used by the WT to obtain the node identifier list of the WLANaggregation may include at least one of the WT directly generating orupdating the node identifier list of the WLAN aggregation for the UE,the WT receiving the node identifier list of the WLAN aggregation fromthe base station, the WT selecting a usable WLAN node of the UE from anode identifier list of the WLAN aggregation received from the basestation, and generating or updating the node identifier list of the WLANaggregation for the UE according to the usable WLAN node, the WTgenerating or updating the node identifier list of the WLAN aggregationaccording to WLAN measurement information of the UE, the WT generatingor updating the node identifier list of the WLAN aggregation accordingto a WLAN node which satisfies a WLAN aggregation condition and isobtained via measurement of the UE, the WT generating or updating thenode identifier list of the WLAN aggregation according to an identifierof a serving PLMN of the UE and/or an identifier of an equivalent PLMNof the serving PLMN, the WT generating or updating the node identifierlist of the WLAN aggregation according to the location information ofthe UE, the WT generating or updating the node identifier list of theWLAN aggregation according to a WLAN capability supported by the UE, theWT generating or updating the node identifier list of the WLANaggregation according to a WLAN node currently associated with the UE,and the WT generating or updating the node identifier list of the WLANaggregation according to a WLAN aggregation threshold condition providedby the base station.

The information that the UE has established association may include atleast one of an identifier of an associated WLAN node, a WLAN mediumaccess control (MAC) address of the UE, and QoS mapping of an offloadedUE bearer executed by the associated WLAN node.

The information received by the base station may include the WLANcapability of the UE. The WLAN capability of the UE may include at leastone of WLAN aggregation capability of the UE, a WLAN on/off state of theUE, a WLAN frequency supported by the UE, a WLAN frequency bandsupported by the UE, and WLAN QoS information supported by the UE.

After the base station receives the WLAN aggregation update information,the method may include sending, by the base station, the WLANaggregation update response information to the WT. The WLAN aggregationupdate information is received by the base station after the UE performshandover or changes an associated WLAN node. After the base stationreceives the WLAN aggregation update information and before the WT sendsthe WLAN aggregation update response information, the method may includedeciding, by the base station, whether to update a node list of the WLANaggregation selected for the UE, or whether to offload more bearers, orwhether to delete an offloaded bearer, according to a handover resultand the WLAN aggregation update information, or according to a changedWLAN node and the WLAN aggregation update information, and instructingthe UE to perform control processing for the EUTRAN and WLAN aggregationaccordingly. The WLAN aggregation update information may includeassociation information updated by the UE and/or a WLAN aggregation nodeidentifier list selected by the WT for the UE, and the WLAN aggregationupdate response information may include a WLAN aggregation nodeidentifier list selected by the base station for the UE.

Preferably, the association information updated by the UE may include atleast one of WLAN information of an associated WLAN node and WLAN QoSmapping of an offloaded UE bearer executed by the associated WLAN node.

In accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure, a base stationfor controlling a WLAN bearer includes a receiving unit is provided. Thebase station is configured to receive information including at least oneof WLAN information of a WLAN node, WLAN measurement information, WLANaggregation response information, WLAN aggregation update responseinformation, WLAN aggregation update information, and a WLAN capabilityof UE, and a processing unit, configured to instruct the UE to performtraffic steering between an E-UTRAN and the WLAN, or instruct the UE toperform control processing for the EUTRAN and WLAN aggregation,according to the information received by the receiving unit.

In accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure, a UE forcontrolling a WLAN bearer is provided. The UE includes a receiving unit,configured to receive WLAN aggregation configuration information sent bya base station, and a selecting unit, configured to select a WLAN nodeaccording to the WLAN aggregation configuration information to initiatean association/re-association.

As can be seen from the above technical solutions, the base stationobtains dynamic and static WLAN information of the WLAN nodes byperforming interoperations with the WT and the UE, thereby reducing alarge number of workloads caused by manual configurations. According tothe configured WLAN aggregation condition and the interoperations withthe WT and the UE, when the UE moves between the WLAN nodes, signalingof control and Uu ports of the base station is reduced, continuity ofreceiving data is maintained for the UE, throughput of the UE isincreased, and increasing data communication requirements of the UE aresatisfied.

Other aspects, advantages, and salient features of the disclosure willbecome apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detaileddescription, which, taken in conjunction with the annexed drawings,discloses various embodiments of the present disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other aspects, features, and advantages of certainembodiments of the present disclosure will be more apparent from thefollowing description taken in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating the structure of an evolvedpacket system (EPS) system according to the related art,

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating an interface between a basestation and a wireless local area network (WLAN) according to anembodiment of the present disclosure,

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a method for controlling a WLANbearer according to various embodiments of the present disclosure,

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a method for controlling a WLANbearer according to various embodiments of the present disclosure,

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a method for controlling a WLANbearer according to various embodiments of the present disclosure,

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a method for controlling a WLANbearer according to various embodiments of the present disclosure,

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a method for controlling a WLANbearer according to various embodiments of the present disclosure,

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating a method for controlling a WLANbearer according to various embodiments of the present disclosure,

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating a method for controlling a WLANbearer according to various embodiments of the present disclosure,

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a method for controlling a WLANbearer according to various embodiments of the present disclosure,

FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating a method for controlling a WLANbearer according to various embodiments of the present disclosure,

FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating a method for controlling a WLANbearer according to various embodiments of the present disclosure,

FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating a method for controlling a WLANbearer according to various embodiments of the present disclosure,

FIG. 14 is a flowchart illustrating a method for controlling a WLANbearer according to various embodiments of the present disclosure,

FIG. 15 is a flowchart illustrating a method for controlling a WLANbearer according to various embodiments of the present disclosure,

FIG. 16 is a flowchart illustrating a method for controlling a WLANbearer according to various embodiments of the present disclosure,

FIG. 17 is a schematic diagram illustrating a base station according tovarious embodiments of the present disclosure, and

FIG. 18 is a schematic diagram illustrating a UE according to variousembodiments of the present disclosure.

Throughout the drawings, like reference numerals will be understood torefer to like parts, components, and structures.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following description with reference to the accompanying drawings isprovided to assist in a comprehensive understanding of variousembodiments of the present disclosure as defined by the claims and theirequivalents. It includes various specific details to assist in thatunderstanding but these are to be regarded as merely exemplary.Accordingly, those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize thatvarious changes and modifications of the various embodiments describedherein can be made without departing from the scope and spirit of thepresent disclosure. In addition, descriptions of well-known functionsand constructions may be omitted for clarity and conciseness.

The terms and words used in the following description and claims are notlimited to the bibliographical meanings, but, are merely used by theinventor to enable a clear and consistent understanding of the presentdisclosure. Accordingly, it should be apparent to those skilled in theart that the following description of various embodiments of the presentdisclosure is provided for illustration purpose only and not for thepurpose of limiting the present disclosure as defined by the appendedclaims and their equivalents.

It is to be understood that the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the”include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.Thus, for example, reference to “a component surface” includes referenceto one or more of such surfaces.

In network structures of the related art, a wireless local area network(WLAN) aggregation method is provided to improve throughput of userequipment (UEs). In the WLAN aggregation, the UE establishes a dualconnectivity of a evolved universal terrestrial radio access network(EUTRAN) bearer and a WLAN bearer, and parts or all of data to betransmitted to the UE are offloaded to the WLAN. The control plane ofthe UE is still established between the UE and a base station, and theWLAN only offloads data of the user plane of the UE. The base stationcontrols establishment and deletion of the WLAN aggregation. By usingthe WLAN aggregation method, the UE is configured to utilize thebandwidth of the WLAN, and service continuity of WLAN services isimproved.

The UE associating with a WLAN node refers to a connection establishedbetween the UE and the WLAN, and data may be transmitted between the UEand the WLAN. The UE re-associating with a WLAN node refers to anassociation between the UE and a first WLAN node moved to a second WLANnode, or refers to the UE performing handover and accessing the secondWLAN node. After the UE re-associates with the second WLAN node, thecontinuity is still maintained. Generally, the WLAN nodes which are ableto be re-associated with the UE belong to the same extended service set(ESS), the same homogeneous ESS (HESS), or the same management scope.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating an interface between a basestation and a wireless local area network (WLAN) according to anembodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 2, the base station is an eNB, and an interfacebetween the eNB and the WLAN side is an Xw interface, an opposite end ofthe Xw interface on the eNB is a WLAN termination (WT). The WT may beregarded as an agent of the WLAN side, and influence on the WLAN sidemay be shielded via the WT. The WT may manage one or more WLAN entities,e.g. an access point (AP), an access controller (AC), a basic serviceset (BSS), an ESS, an HESS or others. The WT may be a single node or maybe merged with the AP, AC, or another WLAN entity.

Currently, the following problems are known.

Problem 1), the coverage of the WLAN node is small. If the UE movesbetween WLAN nodes, numerous Uu interface loads and Xw interfaces loadsmay be caused when the base station performs real-time control.

Problem 2), the UE may perform re-association between the WLAN nodes.However, since the WLAN is a Best-effort network, the re-associated WLANmay not satisfy communication requirements of the UE.

For example, the WT manages a ESS, and multiple APs are included. Thebase station establishes the WLAN aggregation via the WT. The UE needsto select a new AP to initiate the re-association when the UE movesamong the APs of the ESS. The re-association between the UE and the APis transparent for the base station. The data offloaded to the WLAN fromdifferent UEs have different quality of service (QoS) requirements. Ifrequirements of the re-association are defined by the UE itself, theselected AP may not satisfy the service QoS requirements.

Problem 3), the coverage of the base station is much larger than that ofthe WLAN node, and there may be numerous WLANs in the coverage of thebase station. The WLAN may be started up or closed down at any moment.If information of the WLAN is obtained via configurations, the workloadmay be huge. In addition, the base station may manage WLAN networks ofother members except an operator of the base station, but the WLANnetworks of different members are not distinguished by the base stationcurrently.

Problem 4), the base station may not know the WLAN nodes in the coverageof the base station, or the WLAN node may not know the base station inthe coverage of the WLAN node. The WLAN aggregation is the dualconnectivity of the UE between the EUTRAN and the WLAN, and may beimplemented only when the UE is in an overlap of the coverage of theEUTRAN and the coverage of the WLAN.

Problem 5), the base station may not know the management scope of theWT. The base station controls the WLAN aggregation via the WT, but thebase station may not know which WLAN node is usable in the managementscope of the WT.

Problem 6), the base station may not know WLAN capability of the UE.

The UE needs to have the WLAN capability, e.g. a WLAN aggregationcapability. But the UE may enable or disable the WLAN capability at anymoment, i.e. the WLAN capability is dynamic

Problem 7), it is not clear how to select a target WLAN node of the WLANaggregation for the UE.

Problem 8), it is not clear how to control QoS of the offloaded bearer.

In order to make the object, technical solution, and merits of thepresent disclosure clearer, the present disclosure will be illustratedin detail hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings andspecific examples.

In examples of the present disclosure, a method for establishing theWLAN bearer includes the following operations.

In a first operation, a base station receives information including atleast one of WLAN information of a WLAN node, WLAN aggregation responseinformation, WLAN aggregation update response information, WLANaggregation update information, and a WLAN capability of UE.

In a second operation, according to the received information, the basestation instructs the UE to perform traffic steering between an EUTRANand the WLAN, or instructs the UE to perform control processing for theEUTRAN and WLAN aggregation.

When instructing the UE to perform traffic steering between the EUTRANand WLAN, the base station may configure radio access network (RAN)assistant information for the UE to instruct the UE to perform trafficsteering between the EURTAN and the WLAN. When instructing the UE toperform control processing for the EUTRAN and the WLAN aggregation, thebase station may configure WLAN aggregation configuration informationfor the UE, or configure WLAN measurement for the UE, or the basestation may decide whether to establish, modify, or delete the WLANaggregation.

In the above processing, the base station may configure the RANassistant information, the WLAN aggregation or the WLAN measurementaccording to received information of WLAN nodes; or the base station maydecide a control operation for the WLAN aggregation according to thereceived information of the WLAN nodes, and the control operation mayinclude establishing, modifying or deleting the WLAN aggregation, whichmay be described in detail as follows.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a method for controlling a WLANbearer according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. Inthe method, according to WLAN information of WLAN nodes, a base stationconfigures RAN assistant information, WLAN aggregation or WLANmeasurement. The method includes the following operations.

Referring to FIG. 3, at operation 301, a first base station receivesWLAN information of WLAN nodes from a UE, a WT, a second base station,or a core network.

In some examples, the WLAN node may be an AP, an AC, a WT, a BSS, anESS, an HESS, or another WLAN node or unit.

In some examples, the WLAN information of the WLAN node includes atleast one of a WLAN identifier, a PLMN identifier, a supported maximumrate, a BSS load/Channel utilization rate, backhaul uplink/downlinkavailable bandwidth, a number of users, user average throughput, WLANtotal available capacity, UE average access delay, WLAN identifiers ofadjacent or nearby WLAN nodes, and WLAN QoS information supported by theWLAN node.

In some examples, the adjacent WLAN node refers to a WLAN node having anadjacent location or an adjacent coverage. The nearby WLAN node refersto a WLAN node which is not a neighbor of the WLAN node but has a nearlocation or a near coverage, e.g., an adjacent node of the adjacent WLANnode, or when the distance between the location or coverage of a certainWLAN node and of the WLAN node is less than or equal to a presetdistance, the certain WLAN node is the nearby WLAN node of the WLANnode. In some examples, the base station may configure WLAN nodes of theWLAN aggregation for the UE, and the configured WLAN nodes of the WLANaggregation may include a WLAN node of the UE, adjacent or nearby WLANnodes of the WLAN node of the UE, a measured WLAN node, and adjacent ornearby WLAN nodes of the measured WLAN node.

In some examples, the supported WLAN QoS information includes at leastone of whether QoS is supported and supported QoS mechanism (e.g.enhanced distributed channel access in which data are transmittedaccording to different user priorities, and Hybrid CoordinationFunction, etc.). In some examples, the selectable WLAN aggregation nodesconfigured by the base station for the UE may include only WLAN nodessupporting WLAN QoS schedule.

In some examples, the WLAN identifier is an identifier of a WLAN nodeand includes at least one of a service set identifier (SSID), a BSS ID,and an HESS ID.

In some examples, the PLMN identifier is an identifier of a PLMN towhich the WLAN node belongs or an identifier of a PLMN of an operator towhich the WLAN node belongs.

In some examples, the supported maximum rate is a maximum rate supportedby the WLAN.

In some examples, the base station obtains the WLAN information of theWLAN nodes via the UE. The WLAN information of the WLAN nodes mayinclude WLAN information of WLAN nodes measured by the UE, e.g. WLANinformation of a WLAN node with which the UE is associating, or WLANinformation of a candidate second WLAN node. According to a mappingrelation between the WT and the WLAN information of the WLAN nodes whichis obtained from the UE, the first station may obtain an Internetprotocol (IP) address of the WT, and establish an Xw interface with theWT. Or, before receiving the WLAN information of the WLAN nodes sent bythe WT, the base station may obtain the IP address of the WT, andestablish the Xw interface with the WT according to the mapping relationbetween the WLAN information and the WT which is obtained from the UE.In some examples, by using the mapping relation between the WLANinformation and the WT which is obtained from the UE, the base stationmay acquire the IP address of the WT by using the WLAN informationobtained from the UE.

In some examples, the first base station obtains the WLAN information ofthe WLAN nodes via the WT, e.g., WLAN information of each WLAN node inthe managing scope of the WT, WLAN information of each WLAN node underdifferent PLMN in the managing scope of the WT, or WLAN information of aWLAN node with which the UE is associating/re-associating in themanaging scope of the WT.

In some examples, the base station obtains the WLAN information of theWLAN nodes via UE measurement and cooperation of the WT. In someexamples, according to WLAN identifiers of WLAN nodes included inmeasurement reports received from the UE, the base station may associateWLAN information of WLAN nodes obtained from the WT, so as to determinewhether the WLAN nodes reported by the UE belong to WLAN nodes under theregistered PLMN of the UE or under the equivalent PLMN of the registeredPLMN, determine a WT whose management scope covers the WLAN nodesreported by the UE, and determine whether re-association may beperformed, etc.

At operation 302, according to the received WLAN information of the WLANnodes, the first station may configure for the UE: 1) RAN assistantinformation for instructing traffic steering between the EUTRAN and theWLAN; 2) aggregation configuration information of the UE on the EUTRANand the WLAN; and 3) WLAN measurement.

For example, the base station may select a WT of the WLAN aggregation orconfigure the RAN assistant information according to WLAN loadinformation, so that the UE will not access a WLAN node having a highload.

For example, the base station may instruct the UE to measure and reportonly the WLAN nodes within the coverage of the base station, therebyreducing measurement of invalid WLANs.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a method for controlling a WLANbearer according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. Inthe method, information received by a base station includes WLANmeasurement information, and modes for receiving the WLAN measurementinformation by the base station are described. The method includes thefollowing operations.

Referring to FIG. 4, at operation 401, the base station sends WLANmeasurement configuration to a UE.

The WLAN measurement configuration includes at least one of a WLANidentifier, measuring time, measurement reporting threshold, parametersto be measured, and measurement reporting time. The WLAN identifier isdescribed at operation 301, and will not be described again herein.

In some examples, the parameters to be measured include at least one ofa WLAN identifier, a PLMN identifier, a supported maximum rate, a BSSload/Channel utilization rate, backhaul uplink/downlink availablebandwidth, a number of users, user average throughput, a WLAN totalavailable capacity, UE average access delay, a WLAN frequency, and aWLAN frequency band (for example, a country code, an operation type, ora WLAN frequency band identifier consisting of WLAN channelidentifiers).

In some examples, the measurement reporting threshold includes at leastone of a threshold of the BSS load/Channel utilization rate, a thresholdof the backhaul uplink/downlink available bandwidth, a threshold ofreceived signal strength indication (RSSI) of Beacon, a threshold of theUE average access delay, a threshold of the number of users, a thresholdof the user average throughput, a threshold of the WLAN total availablecapacity. In some examples, when the WLAN information of the WLAN nodemeasured by the UE satisfies the measurement reporting threshold, the UEreports WLAN measurement information to the base station.

In some examples, the measurement reporting threshold is satisfied whenWLAN information of a candidate target WLAN node of the WLAN aggregationsatisfies a WLAN aggregation threshold condition.

The WLAN information of the WLAN node satisfying the WLAN aggregationthreshold condition will be described at operation 702 and will not bedescribed herein.

In some examples, the candidate target WLAN node of the WLAN aggregationmatches at least one of: a WLAN node under a registered PLMN of the UEor an equivalent PLMN of the registered PLMN, a WLAN node within amanagement scope of a certain WT to which the base station may connect,a WLAN node not within a management scope of the WT of the current WLANaggregation of the UE, a WLAN node not included in a WLAN aggregationnode identifier list instructed by the base station, and a WLAN nodewith which the UE cannot associate or re-associate.

In some examples, the measurement reporting threshold is not satisfiedwhen the current WLAN aggregation of the UE does not include the WLANnode whose WLAN information satisfies the WLAN aggregation thresholdcondition.

The WLAN information of the WLAN node not satisfying the WLANaggregation threshold condition will be described at operation 702 andwill not be described here.

In some examples, the WLAN node in the current WLAN aggregation of theUE matches at least one of a WLAN node under the registered PLMN of theUE or the equivalent PLMN of the registered PLMN, a WLAN node within amanagement scope of the WT of the current WLAN aggregation of the UE, aWLAN node included in a WLAN aggregation node identifier list instructedby the base station, and a WLAN node with which the UE can associate orre-associate.

In some examples, the measurement reporting time is a time period. Whenthe time period arrives, the UE reports the WLAN measurement informationto the base station. After receiving the WLAN measurement configurationfrom the base station, the UE configures WLAN nodes to be measured,information to be measured, time to perform the measurement, performsthe measurement, and reports WLAN measurement information.

At operation 402, the base station receives the WLAN measurementinformation sent by the UE.

The WLAN measurement information is the WLAN information of the WLANnodes measured by the UE. The WLAN information of the WLAN node isdescribed at operation 301 and will not be described again here.

In some examples, according to the WLAN measurement information sent bythe UE, the base station may decide whether to establish, modify, ordelete the WLAN aggregation of the UE, or may perform WLAN aggregationconfiguration for the UE.

In some examples, the WLAN measurement information received by the basestation indicates identifiers of WLAN nodes. The base station maydirectly obtain WLAN information of measured WLAN nodes from the WLANmeasurement information, or the base station may obtain the WLANinformation of the measured WLAN nodes from WLAN information obtained byan associated WT.

In some examples, the base station learns that the WLAN information ofthe candidate target WLAN node of the WLAN aggregation satisfies theWLAN aggregation threshold condition. If the UE does not establish theWLAN aggregation, the base station may establish the WLAN aggregationfor the UE. The WLAN information of the candidate target WLAN nodesatisfying the WLAN aggregation threshold condition is described atoperation 401 and will not be described again here.

In some examples, the base station learns that the current WLANaggregation of the UE does not include the WLAN node whose WLANinformation satisfies the WLAN aggregation threshold condition. The basestation may delete the WLAN aggregation of the current WT and/or deletethe WLAN aggregation of the UE. The current WLAN aggregation of the UEnot including the WLAN node whose WLAN information satisfies the WLANaggregation threshold condition is described at operation 401 and willnot be described again here.

In some examples, when the base station learns that the current WLANaggregation of the UE does not include the WLAN node whose WLANinformation satisfies the WLAN aggregation threshold condition and thatthere is a candidate target WLAN node of the WLAN aggregation whose WLANinformation satisfies the WLAN aggregation threshold condition, the basestation may delete the WLAN aggregation of the current WT and re-selecta WT for the UE to establish the WLAN aggregation, and send modifiedWLAN aggregation configuration information to the UE.

The current WLAN aggregation of the UE not including the WLAN node whoseWLAN information satisfies the WLAN aggregation threshold condition andthe candidate target WLAN node of the WLAN aggregation whose WLANinformation satisfies the WLAN aggregation threshold condition aredescribed at operation 401 and will not be described again here.

The WLAN aggregation configuration information will be described atoperation 701 and will not be described again here.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a method for controlling a WLANbearer according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. Themethod refers to a procedure of receiving WLAN aggregation responseinformation or WLAN aggregation update response information by a basestation. The method includes the following operations.

Referring to FIG. 5, at operation 501, a first base station determinesto establish a WLAN aggregation for a UE, and sends WLAN aggregationrequest information or WLAN aggregation update information to a WT.

The WLAN aggregation request information or WLAN aggregation updateinformation may include at least one of a WLAN identifier of each WLANnode of the WLAN aggregation selected for the UE, an identifier of aregistered PLMN of the UE and an identifier of an equivalent PLMN of theregistered PLMN, an identifier of the UE, an eNB Xw UE ID, informationof offloaded bearer on the base station side; a WLAN capability of theUE, location information of the UE, a WLAN aggregation thresholdcondition, WLAN measurement information of the UE, and WLAN informationof a WLAN node associated with the UE.

In some examples, the WLAN node of the WLAN aggregation selected for theUE may include at least one of a WLAN node whose WLAN informationsatisfies a WLAN aggregation condition and/or an adjacent WLAN node or anearby WLAN node of this WLAN node. In some examples, the base stationreceives the WLAN measurement information reported by the UE, anddetermines the WLAN nodes whose WLAN information satisfies the WLANaggregation condition according to the WLAN measurement information. TheWLAN information of the WLAN node satisfying the WLAN aggregationcondition will be described at operation 702 and will not be describedagain here. The WLAN measurement information is described at operation402, and will not be described again here. In some examples, the WT mayselect a node identifier list of the WLAN aggregation for the UEaccording to the WLAN measurement information.

The base station directly selects a node identifier list of the WLANaggregation for the UE. In some examples, the UE may perform handover(e.g. association, re-association) between WLAN nodes in the nodeidentifier list selected by the base station without informing the basestation.

In some examples, the identifier of the UE may be at least one of a WLANmedium access control (MAC) address, an international mobile subscriberidentification number (IMSI), a SAE-temporary mobile subscriber identity(S-TMSI), a TMSI, a UE identifier assigned by the base station side forthe WLAN aggregation, a C-radio network temporary identifier (C-RNTI),and a UE identifier assigned by the WT side for the WLAN aggregation.

In some examples, information of offloaded bearer on the base stationside includes at least one of a WT Xw UE ID, a general packet radioservice (GPRS) tunnel protocol (GTP) tunnel endpoint ID (TEID) and an IPaddress of the offloaded bearer on the base station side, and QoSrequirements of the offloaded bearer.

In some examples, the WLAN capability of the UE includes at least one ofWLAN aggregation capability of the UE, a WLAN on/off state of the UE, aWLAN frequency supported by the UE, a WLAN frequency band supported bythe UE (for example, a country code, an operation type, or a WLANfrequency band identifier consisting of WLAN channel identifiers), andWLAN QoS information supported by the UE. In some examples, the WLAN QoSinformation supported by the UE includes at least one of whether QoS issupported and a supported QoS mechanism (e.g. enhanced distributedchannel access and Hybrid Coordination Function etc.).

In some examples, the location information of the UE includes at leastone of an identifier of a cell of the UE, an identifier of a trackingarea of the UE (e.g. tracking area code (TAC), tracking area identity(TAI)), an identifier of a service area of the UE (e.g. service areaidentity (SAI)), and an identifier of a base station of the UE.

The WLAN aggregation threshold condition will be described at operation701 and will not be described again here.

The WLAN measurement information of the UE is described at operation402, and will not be described again here.

In some examples, the WLAN node associated by the UE may be a preferredWLAN node of the user. The WLAN information of the WLAN node isdescribed at operation 301 and will not be described again here.

At operation 502, the first base station receives WLAN aggregationresponse information or WLAN aggregation update response informationfrom the WT.

If the first base station sends the WLAN aggregation request informationat operation 501, the WLAN aggregation response information is receivedby the first base station at operation 502. If first base station sendsthe WLAN aggregation update information at operation 501, the WLANaggregation update response information is received by the first basestation at operation 502.

The WLAN aggregation response information or the WLAN aggregation updateresponse information includes at least one of WLAN aggregation preparinginformation, a WT Xw UE ID, information of the offloaded bearer on theWT side, information of that the UE has established association.

In some examples, the information of the offloaded bearer on the WT sideincludes at least one of a TEID and IP address of the offloaded beareron the WT side, and QoS requirements of the offloaded bearer.

In some examples, the QoS requirements of the offloaded bearer may be aWLAN QoS mapping result of the offloaded UE bearer executed by the WT.The WLAN QoS mapping result may include at least one of whether QoS issupported, a WLAN access category mapped to the bearer, and WLAN userpriorities mapped to the bearer.

In some examples, the WLAN aggregation preparing information includes atleast one of a node identifier list of the WLAN aggregation, IPaddresses reserved for the UE, a PLMN identifier, and an identifier ofthe UE.

The identifier of the UE is described at operation 501 and will not bedescribed again here.

In some examples, the WLAN node indicated in the node identifier list ofthe WLAN aggregation matches at least one of a WLAN node within amanagement scope of the WT of the WLAN aggregation, a WLAN node underthe registered PLMN of the UE or the equivalent PLMN of the registeredPLMN, and a WLAN node with which the UE is allowed to associate orre-associate in the WLAN aggregation.

In some examples, the WT may obtain the WLAN aggregation node identifierlist via at least one of the following modes.

The WT may directly select or update the WLAN aggregation nodeidentifier list for the UE.

The WT may receive the WLAN aggregation node identifier list from thebase station.

The WT may determine whether WLAN nodes in a WLAN aggregation nodeidentifier list received from the base station are usable for the UE,and return the WLAN aggregation node identifier list includingdetermined usable WLAN nodes.

The WT may select or update the WLAN aggregation node identifier listfor the UE according to at least one item of the following information:

The WLAN measurement information of the UE, which is described atoperation 402 and will not be described again here and the WLANinformation of the WLAN nodes measured by the UE. In some examples,according to the WLAN measurement information of the UE, the WT selectsthe WLAN node whose WLAN information satisfies the WLAN aggregationcondition and/or adjacent WLAN nodes or nearby WLAN nodes of this WLANnode.

The WLAN nodes which satisfy a WLAN aggregation condition and areobtained via measurement of the UE. The WLAN node satisfying the WLANaggregation condition is described at operation 702 and will not bedescribed again here. In some examples, the WT selects the WLAN nodewhose WLAN information satisfies the WLAN aggregation condition and/oradjacent WLAN nodes or nearby WLAN nodes of this WLAN node, according tothe measurement of the UE.

A serving PLMN identifier of the UE and/or an identifier of anequivalent PLMN of the serving PLMN. In some examples, according to theserving PLMN identifier of the UE and/or the identifier of theequivalent PLMN of the serving PLMN, the WT selects WLAN nodes in thePLMN scope and/or adjacent or nearby WLAN nodes of these WLAN nodes. Forexample, the WT may select WLAN nodes of a WLAN channel supporting thecorresponding country and operating type according to the PLMN of theUE.

The location of the UE which may at least one of a tracking areaidentifier (e.g. TAC or TAI), a service area identifier, a cellidentifier and a base station identifier. In some examples, the WT mayselect WLAN nodes within the coverage of the tracking area, the servicearea, the cell or the base station of the UE and/or adjacent or nearbyWLAN nodes of these nodes.

The WLAN capability supported by the UE. In some examples, according tothe WLAN capability supported by the UE, the WT may select WLAN nodessatisfying the WLAN capability supported by the UE and/or adjacent ornearby WLAN nodes of these WLAN nodes. The WLAN capability supported bythe UE is described at operation 501. In some examples, the WT mayselect the WLAN nodes supporting the WLAN frequency, the WLAN frequencyband or the WLAN channel number supported by the UE. In some examples,according to the WLAN QoS supported by the UE, the WT may select WLANnodes supporting the same WLAN QoS.

A WLAN node associated with the UE currently. In some examples, the WTmay select the WLAN node associated with the UE currently and/or anadjacent WLAN node of the WLAN node or a WLAN node near to the WLANnode.

A WLAN aggregation threshold condition, which is described at operation701 and will not be described again here. In some examples, according tothe WLAN aggregation threshold condition provided by the base station,the WT may select WLAN nodes matching the WLAN aggregation thresholdcondition and/or adjacent or nearby WLAN nodes of these WLAN nodes.

In some examples, information that the UE has established associationincludes at least one an identifier of an associated WLAN node, theidentifier of the UE, and a QoS mapping of offloaded UE bearer executedby the associated WLAN node. The QoS mapping of the offloaded UE bearerexecuted by the associated WLAN node includes at least one of whetherWLAN QoS is supported and a WLAN access type mapping to the bearer, aWLAN user priority mapping to the bearer. In some examples, only whenthe UE associates with the WLAN node indicated in the WLAN aggregationnode identifier list, the WT returns information that the UE hasestablished association to the base station. The identifier of the UE isdescribed at operation 501 and will not be described again here. In someexamples, the base station directly sends downlink data to the WT afterlearning that the UE has established association in the WT of the WLANaggregation.

At operation 503, when the WLAN aggregation preparing information isincluded in the received WLAN aggregation response information or theWLAN aggregation update response information, the first base station maysend the received WLAN aggregation preparing information to the UE asone item of the WLAN aggregation configuration information, or the firstbase station may directly configure the WLAN aggregation configurationinformation of the UE after determining that the WT is ready.

The WLAN aggregation configuration information will be described atoperation 701 and will not be described again here.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a method for controlling a WLANbearer according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. Inthe method, a base station decides control for WLAN aggregationaccording to received information. The method includes the followingoperations.

Referring to FIG. 6, at operation 601, the base station decides whetherto establish, modify, or delete the WLAN aggregation according at leastone of WLAN information of WLAN nodes, WLAN aggregation responseinformation, and a WLAN capability of the UE.

The WLAN information of the WLAN nodes is described at operation 301 andwill not be described again here.

The WLAN aggregation response information is described at operation 501and will not be described again here.

The WLAN capability of the UE includes at least one of a WLANaggregation capability of the UE, a WLAN on/off state of the UE, a WLANfrequency supported by the UE, a WLAN frequency band supported by the UE(for example, a country code, an operation type, or a WLAN frequencyband identifier consisting of WLAN channel identifiers), and WLAN QoSinformation supported by the UE. In some examples, the WLAN QoSinformation supported by the UE includes at least one of whether QoS issupported and a supported QoS mechanism (e.g. enhanced distributedchannel access and Hybrid Coordination Function etc.). The base stationmay obtain the WLAN capability of the UE from the UE side. In someexamples, the WLAN on/off state of the UE indicates the WLAN of the UEis on or off currently. In some examples, after the WLAN on/off state ofthe UE changes, the base station may receive the updated WLAN on/offstate from the UE.

At operation 602, the first base station performs the WLAN aggregationconfiguration for the UE according to at least one of the WLANinformation of the WLAN nodes, the WLAN aggregation responseinformation, and the WLAN capability of the UE.

The WLAN information of the WLAN nodes is described at operation 301 andwill not be described again here.

The WLAN aggregation response information is described at operation 501and will not be described again here.

The WLAN capability of the UE is described at operation 601 and will notbe described again here.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a method for controlling a WLANbearer according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. Themethod involves processing on the UE side. The method includes thefollowing operations.

Referring to FIG. 7, at operation 701, a UE receives WLAN aggregationconfiguration information sent or updated by a base station.

In some examples, the WLAN aggregation configuration informationincludes at least one of a PLMN identifier, a WLAN aggregation nodeidentifier list, a WLAN aggregation threshold condition/WLAN aggregationhandover threshold condition, and associating/re-associating determiningtime. The WLAN identifier is described at operation 301 and will not bedescribed again here.

In some examples, the WLAN aggregation node identifier list includesWLAN identifiers of WLAN nodes selected for the UE to perform the WLANaggregation currently or WLAN identifiers of WLAN nodes with which theUE may perform association/re-association itself. In some examples, theUE performing association/re-association itself refers to, when the WLANaggregation condition is satisfied, according to the WLAN aggregationthreshold condition provided by the base station, the UE itself mayselect a second WLAN node to perform association/re-association, ratherthan under the control of the base station.

In some examples, the WLAN node indicated in the WLAN aggregation nodeidentifier list matches at least one of a WLAN node within a managementscope of the WT of the WLAN aggregation, a WLAN node under theregistered PLMN of the UE or the equivalent PLMN of the registered PLMN,a WLAN node with which the UE is allowed to associate or re-associate inthe WLAN aggregation, and a WLAN node indicated in a WLAN aggregationnode identifier list which is selected or updated by the WT for the UEand is obtained by the base station from the WT. In some examples, whenthe base station receives the WLAN aggregation node identifier listselected or updated by the WT for the UE, the base station sends thereceived WLAN aggregation node identifier list to the UE.

In some examples, the WLAN aggregation threshold condition refers to adetermining condition of WLAN nodes with which the UE canassociate/re-associate. The WLAN aggregation threshold condition mayinclude at least one of a threshold of a BSS load/Channel utilizationrate, a threshold of backhaul uplink/downlink available bandwidth, athreshold of RSSI of Beacon, a threshold of UE average access delay, athreshold of user average throughput, and a threshold of WLAN totalavailable capacity. According to the above thresholds, the UE maydetermine whether to associate/re-associate with a certain WLAN node. Insome examples, any one of the above thresholds may include a lowthreshold value and a high threshold value, or include a threshold valueand a viscosity value. The high threshold value is obtained by addingthe viscosity value to the threshold value, and low threshold value isobtained by subtracting the viscosity value from the threshold value.

In some examples, when the associating/re-associating determining timearrives, the UE needs to decide whether to perform anassociation/re-association according to the WLAN aggregation thresholdcondition. In some examples, the associating/re-associating determiningtime may include an initial offset and a period of time. In someexamples, the time may be represented by using a frame number andsub-frame number.

At operation 702, the UE selects a WLAN node according to the receivedWLAN aggregation configuration information and initiates anassociation/re-association.

In some examples, the UE receives the WLAN aggregation thresholdcondition. The WLAN aggregation threshold condition is described atoperation 701 and will not be described herein.

In some examples, when a first WLAN node associated with the UEcurrently does not satisfy the WLAN aggregation threshold condition orwhen a second WLAN node indicated in the WLAN aggregation nodeidentifier list satisfies the WLAN aggregation threshold condition, theUE may select the second WLAN node to initiate theassociation/re-association. The WLAN aggregation node identifier list isdescribed at operation 701.

In some examples, when the WLAN information of the WLAN node does notsatisfy the WLAN aggregation threshold condition, it means that the WLANinformation of the WLAN node satisfies at least one of a BSSload/Channel utilization rate is larger than the threshold of the BSSload/Channel utilization rate, a backhaul uplink/downlink availablebandwidth is less than the threshold of the backhaul uplink/downlinkavailable bandwidth, an RSSI of Beacon is less than the threshold of theRSSI of Beacon, a UE average access delay is larger than the thresholdof the UE average access delay, the number of the users is larger thanthe threshold of the number of the users, a user average throughput islarger than the threshold of the user average throughput, and a WLANtotal available capacity is less than the threshold of the WLAN totalavailable capacity.

In some examples, when the WLAN information of the first WLAN node isequal to at least one the above thresholds, it may be determined thatthe first WLAN node does not satisfy the WLAN aggregation thresholdcondition.

In some examples, when the WLAN information of the WLAN node satisfiesthe WLAN aggregation threshold condition, it means that the WLANinformation of the WLAN node satisfies at least one of, a BSSload/Channel utilization rate is less than the threshold of the BSSload/Channel utilization rate, a backhaul uplink/downlink availablebandwidth is larger than the threshold of the backhaul uplink/downlinkavailable bandwidth, an RSSI of Beacon is larger than the threshold ofthe RSSI of Beacon, a UE average access delay is less than the thresholdof the UE average access delay, the number of the users is less than thethreshold of the number of the users, a user average throughput is lessthan the threshold of the user average throughput, and a WLAN totalavailable capacity is larger than the threshold of the WLAN totalavailable capacity.

In some examples, when the WLAN information of the WLAN node is equal toat least one of the above thresholds, it may be determined that the WLANnode satisfies the WLAN aggregation threshold condition. Besides thefifth method, the above mode for determining whether the WLANaggregation threshold condition is satisfied may be also applied to theabove-mentioned second method shown in FIG. 4.

In some examples, the value of the threshold for determining whether thefirst WLAN node does not satisfy the WLAN aggregation thresholdcondition may be different from the value of the threshold fordetermining whether the second WLAN node satisfies the correspondingWLAN aggregation threshold condition.

In some examples, the WLAN aggregation threshold condition has a highthreshold and a low threshold. The high threshold and the low thresholdare described at operation 701. The UE may re-associate with the secondWLAN node only when the WLAN information of the candidate second WLANnode and the WLAN information of the currently associated first WLANnode match at least one of the following conditions: a BSS load/Channelutilization rate of the first WLAN node is larger than a high thresholdof a BSS load/Channel utilization rate, a backhaul uplink/downlinkavailable bandwidth of the first WLAN node is less than a low thresholdof backhaul uplink/downlink available bandwidth, a RSSI of Beacon of thefirst WLAN node is less than a low threshold of RS SI of Beacon, a UEaverage access delay of the first WLAN node is larger than a highthreshold of UE average access delay, the number of the users of thefirst WLAN node is larger than a high threshold of the number of theusers, a user average throughput of the first WLAN node is larger than ahigh threshold of user average throughput, a WLAN total availablecapacity of the first WLAN node is less than a low threshold of WLANtotal available capacity, a BSS load/Channel utilization rate of thesecond WLAN node is less than a low threshold of a BSS load/Channelutilization rate, a backhaul uplink/downlink available bandwidth of thesecond WLAN node is larger than a high threshold of backhauluplink/downlink available bandwidth, an RSSI of Beacon of the secondWLAN node is larger than a high threshold of RSSI of Beacon, a UEaverage access delay of the second WLAN node is less than a lowthreshold of UE average access delay, the number of the users of thesecond WLAN node is less than a low threshold of the number of theusers, a user average throughput of the second WLAN node is less than alow threshold of user average throughput, and a WLAN total availablecapacity of the second WLAN node is larger than a high threshold of WLANtotal available capacity.

In some examples, when the WLAN information of the first WLAN node isequal to at least one of the above thresholds, it may be determined thatthe first WLAN node satisfies the WLAN aggregation threshold condition,and when the WLAN information of the second WLAN node is equal to atleast one of the above thresholds, it may be determined that the secondWLAN node satisfies the WLAN aggregation threshold condition.

In some examples, when the first WLAN node associated with the UEcurrently does not satisfy the WLAN aggregation threshold condition andthe second WLAN node satisfying the WLAN aggregation threshold conditiondoes not exist, the UE may request the base station to delete the WLANaggregation.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating a method for controlling a WLANbearer according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. Themethod involves a procedure of receiving WLAN aggregation updateinformation by a base station and related procedures. The methodincludes the following operations.

Referring to FIG. 8, at operation 801, a first base station receivesWLAN aggregation update information from a WT.

In some examples, the WLAN aggregation update information includes atleast one of association information updated by the UE and a WLANaggregation node identifier list selected for the UE.

In some examples, the association information updated by the UE includesat least one of WLAN information of associated WLAN nodes and WLAN QoSmapping of offloaded UE bearer executed by the associated WLAN node. TheWLAN information is described at operation 301 and will not be describedagain here.

In some examples, when the UE performs handover or changes theassociated WLAN node, the WT may perform this operation, sends the WLANaggregation update information to the first base station. In someexamples, the base station may track the WLAN location and resourcestate according to a handover result or a changed associated WLAN node,and further according to the WLAN aggregation update information, thebase station may decide whether to update the WLAN aggregation nodeidentifier list selected for the UE, or whether to offload more bearers,or whether to delete an offloaded bearer.

At operation 802, the first base sends WLAN aggregation update responseinformation to the WT.

In some examples, the WLAN aggregation update response informationincludes at least one of a WLAN aggregation node identifier listselected for the UE, information of a deleted offloaded bearer, andinformation of an added offloaded bearer.

The methods of the present disclosure are described via some examples.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating a method for controlling a WLANbearer according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. Themethod includes the following operations.

Referring to FIG. 9, at operation 901, a base station sends an Xwestablishing request message to a WT.

In some examples, the base station may determine the WT within thecoverage of the base station according to an association relationbetween the WT and WLAN information of WLAN nodes which is obtained viaWLAN measurement and is sent by the UE, and then the base station mayrequest the WT to establish the Xw interface.

At operation 902, the WT sends a Xw establishing response message to thebase station. In some examples, the message includes the WLANinformation of the WLAN nodes. The WLAN information of the WLAN nodesare described at operation 301 and will not be described again here.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a method for controlling a WLANbearer according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. Themethod includes the following operations.

Referring to FIG. 10, at operation 1001, a WT sends an Xw establishingrequest message/WT configuration update request message to a basestation. In some examples, the message includes WLAN information of WLANnodes. The WLAN information of the WLAN nodes are described at operation301 and will not be described again here. In some examples, the WT sendsupdated WLAN information of the WLAN node to the base station, when theWLAN information of WLAN node belonging to the WT changes, e.g., when anew WLAN node accesses to the WT or an accessed WLAN node is closed. Theupdated WLAN information of the WLAN nodes includes WLAN information ofthe new WLAN node, and does not include WLAN information of the closedWLAN node.

At operation 1002, the base station sends an Xw establishing responsemessage/WT configuration update response message to the WT.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating a method for controlling a WLANbearer according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. Themethod includes the following operations.

Referring to FIG. 11, at operation 1101, a base station sends WLANmeasurement configuration to a UE. The WLAN measurement configuration isdescribed at operation 401 and will not be described again here.

At operation 1102, the UE sends WLAN measurement information to the basestation. The WLAN measurement information is described at operation 402and will not be described again here.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating a method for controlling a WLANbearer according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. Inthe method, the above-mentioned third method, fifth method and sixthmethod are combined. In some examples, a WLAN node and a WT may bemerged together. The method includes the following operations.

Referring to FIG. 12, at operation 1201, a base station receives WLANmeasurement information from a UE.

At operation 1202, the base station decides to establish WLANaggregation for the UE according to the WLAN measurement information.The base station selects a WT, and sends a WLAN aggregation establishingrequest message to the WT. In some examples, the WLAN aggregationestablishing request message includes WLAN aggregation requestinformation. The WLAN aggregation request information is described atoperation 501 and will not be described again here.

At operation 1203, the base station receives a WLAN aggregationestablishing request acknowledgement message from the WT. In someexamples, the WLAN aggregation establishing request acknowledgementmessage indicates WLAN aggregation response information. The WLANaggregation response information is described at operation 502 and willnot be described again here. In some examples, the base station maysubsequently receive a WLAN aggregation association acknowledgementmessage from the WT. In some examples, the WLAN aggregation associationacknowledgement message indicates the WLAN aggregation responseinformation. In some examples, the WLAN aggregation associationacknowledgement message is used to confirm that the UE has associatedwith the WALN node.

At operation 1204, the base station sends WLAN aggregation configurationinformation to the UE via a radio resource control (RRC) reconfigurationrequest message or a new RRC message. The WLAN aggregation configurationinformation is described at operation 701 and will not be describedagain here.

At operation 1205, the UE sends an RRC reconfiguration response messageor a new RRC message to indicate that configuration of WLAN aggregationof the UE is complete.

At operation 1206, in some examples, the base station may send a WLANaggregation complete message to the WT after learning that theconfiguration of the WLAN configuration of the UE is complete.

At operation 1207, the base station sends downlink data to the WT.

At operation 1208, the UE may access a WLAN node according toassociation assigned by the base station. Or, the UE may select a WLANnode whose WLAN information satisfies a WLAN aggregation thresholdcondition from a WLAN aggregation node identifier list assigned by thebase station, and perform association with and access the selected WLANnode. The WLAN aggregation node identifier list and the WLAN aggregationthreshold condition are described at operation 701 and will not bedescribed again here. The associated WLAN node is called a first WLANnode hereinafter.

At operation 1209, in some examples, the WT forwards the downlink datasent from the base station to the first WLAN node. When the WT is thefirst WLAN node or the WT is merged with the first WLAN node, the WT maydirectly send the downlink data to the UE.

At operation 1210, the first WLAN node sends the downlink data to theUE.

At operation 1211, according to the WLAN aggregation configurationinformation, the UE determines that WLAN information of the first WLANnode does not satisfy the WLAN aggregation threshold condition or WLANinformation of a second WLAN node in the WLAN aggregation nodeidentifier list satisfies the WLAN aggregation threshold condition. TheWLAN aggregation node identifier list and the WLAN aggregation thresholdcondition are described at operation 701 and will not be described againhere. The UE may associate/re-associate with the second WLAN node andaccess to the second WLAN node. After the UE associates/re-associateswith and accesses the second WLAN node, the WT may send WLAN updateinformation to the base station, as described at operation 801.

At operation 1212, the WT forwards the downlink data sent by the basestation to the second WLAN node.

At operation 1213, the second WLAN node sends the downlink data to theUE.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating a method for controlling a WLANbearer according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. Themethod includes the following operations.

Referring to FIG. 13, at operation 1301, when the WLAN information ofthe first WLAN node currently associated with the UE does not satisfythe WLAN aggregation threshold condition and the WLAN aggregation nodeidentifier list does not include the second WLAN node whose WLANinformation satisfies the WLAN aggregation threshold condition, the UEmay request the base station to delete the WLAN aggregation. The WLANinformation of the WLAN node not satisfying the WLAN aggregationthreshold condition is described at operation 801 and will not bedescribed again here.

At operation 1302, the base station sends a WLAN aggregation deletionrequest to the WT of the WLAN aggregation.

At operation 1303, the WT sends a WLAN aggregation deletion acknowledgeto the base station.

At operation 1304, the base station sends the WLAN aggregation deletionacknowledge to the UE.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart illustrating a method for controlling a WLANbearer according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. Themethod includes the following operations.

Referring to FIG. 14, at operation 1401, a base station receives WLANmeasurement information of a UE.

In some examples, the WLAN measurement information received by the basestation indicates an identifier of a WLAN node. The base station maydirectly obtain WLAN information of measured WLAN nodes from the WLANmeasurement information, or the base station may obtain the WLANinformation of the measured WLAN nodes from WLAN information obtained byan associated WT.

After learning that the WLAN node whose WLAN information satisfies theWLAN aggregation threshold condition is not included in the current WLANaggregation of the UE and that WLAN information of a candidate targetWLAN node of the WLAN aggregation satisfies the WLAN aggregationthreshold condition, the base station may delete the WLAN aggregation ofthe current WT (called a first WT hereinafter), re-select a WT (called asecond WT hereinafter) for the UE to establish the WLAN aggregation, andsend modified WLAN aggregation configuration information to the UE.

The WLAN nodes of the current WLAN aggregation of the UE and thecandidate target WLAN node of the WLAN aggregation are described at 401and will not be described again here.

The WLAN aggregation configuration information is described at 701 andwill not be described again here.

At operation 1402, the base station sends a WLAN aggregation deletionrequest to the first WT, and stops sending data of the UE to the firstWT.

At operation 1403, the base station receives a WLAN aggregation deletionacknowledge from the first WT.

At operation 1404, the base station sends a WLAN aggregationestablishing request message to the second WT. In some examples, theWLAN aggregation establishing request message includes WLAN aggregationrequest information. The WLAN aggregation request information isdescribed at 501 and will not be described again here.

At operation 1405, the base station receives a WLAN aggregationestablishing request acknowledgement message from the second WT. In someexamples, the message indicates WLAN aggregation response information.The WLAN aggregation response information is described at 502 and willnot be described again here.

At operation 1406, the base station modifies the WLAN aggregationconfiguration information of the UE according to the WLAN aggregationresponse information sent by the second WT, and sends the modified WLANaggregation configuration information to the UE via a RRCreconfiguration request message or a new RRC message. The WLANaggregation configuration information is described at 701 and will notbe described again here.

At operation 1407, the UE sends an RRC reconfiguration response messageor a new RRC message to the base station to indicate that modificationof WLAN aggregation configuration of the UE is complete.

At operation 1408, in some examples, after learning that themodification of WLAN aggregation configuration of the UE is complete,the base station may send a WLAN aggregation complete message to the WT.

At operation 1409, the base station sends the downlink data to the WT.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart illustrating a method for controlling a WLANbearer according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. Insome examples, a WLAN node and a WT may be merged together. The methodincludes the following operations.

Referring to FIG. 15, at operation 1501, a base station sends a WLANaggregation update request to a WT. In some examples, the WLANaggregation update request includes WLAN update information which isdescribed at operation 501 and will not be described again here.

At operation 1502, the base station receives a WLAN aggregation updaterequest acknowledgement message from the WT. In some examples, themessage includes WLAN aggregation update response information which isdescribed at operation 502 and will not be described again here.

At operation 1503, the base station sends the WLAN aggregation updateresponse information to the UE via an RRC reconfiguration requestmessage or a new RRC message. The WLAN aggregation update responseinformation is described at operation 701 and will not be describedagain here.

At operation 1504, the UE sends an RRC reconfiguration response messageor a new RRC message to indicate that configuration of the WLANaggregation of the UE is complete.

At operation 1505, in some examples, the base station may send WLANaggregation update complete information to the WT after learning thatthe configuration of the WLAN aggregation of the UE is complete.

FIG. 16 is a flowchart illustrating an method for controlling a WLANbearer according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. Inthe method, the fifth method and the sixth method are combined. In someexamples, a WLAN node and a WT may be merged together. The methodincludes the following operations.

Referring to FIG. 16, at operation 1601, a WT sends a WLAN aggregationupdate request to a base station. In some examples, the WLAN aggregationupdate request includes WLAN update information which is described atoperation 801 and will not be described again here.

At operation 1602, the base station sends a WLAN aggregation updaterequest acknowledgement message to the WT. In some examples, the messageincludes WLAN aggregation update response information which is describedat operation 802 and will not be described again here.

At operation 1603, the base station sends WLAN aggregation configurationinformation to the UE via an RRC reconfiguration request message or anew RRC message. The WLAN aggregation configuration information isdescribed at operation 701 and will not be described again here.

At operation 1604, the UE sends an RRC reconfiguration response messageor a new RRC message to indicate that configuration of the WLANaggregation of the UE is complete.

At operation 1605, in some examples, the base station may send WLANaggregation update complete information to the WT after learning thatthe configuration of the WLAN aggregation of the UE is complete.

The methods of controlling the WLAN bearer in the present disclosure aredescribed, and the present disclosure also provides a base station and aUE to apply the above methods.

The base station device provided by the present disclosure is shown inFIG. 17.

FIG. 17 is a schematic diagram illustrating a base station according tovarious embodiments of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 17, the base station includes a receiving unit 1701and a processing unit 1702. The receiving unit 1701 is configured toreceive information including at least one of WLAN information of a WLANnode, WLAN measurement information, WLAN aggregation responseinformation, WLAN aggregation update response information, WLANaggregation update information, and a WLAN capability of UE. Theprocessing unit 1702 is configured to, according to the informationreceived by the receiving unit, instruct the UE to perform trafficsteering between the EUTRAN and the WLAN, or instruct the UE to performcontrol processing for the EUTRAN and WLAN aggregation. In someexamples, the processing unit 1702 is configured to, according to theinformation received by the receiving unit, configure RAN assistantinformation for the UE to instruct the UE to perform the trafficsteering between the EURTAN and the WLAN, or configure WLAN aggregationconfiguration information for the UE, or configure WLAN measurement forthe UE, or decide whether to establish, modify, or delete the WLANaggregation.

The UE provided by the present disclosure is shown in FIG. 18.

FIG. 18 is a schematic diagram illustrating a UE according to variousembodiments of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 18, the UE includes a receiving unit 1801 and aselecting unit 1802. The receiving unit 1801 is configured to receiveWLAN aggregation configuration information sent by the base station. Theselecting unit 1802 is configured to select a WLAN node to initiate anassociation/re-association according to the WLAN aggregationconfiguration information.

As can be seen from the above technical solutions, the base stationobtains dynamic and static WLAN information of the WLAN nodes byperforming interoperations with the WT and the UE, thereby reducing alarge number of workloads caused by manual configurations. According tothe configured WLAN aggregation condition and the interoperations withthe WT and the UE, when the UE moves between the WLAN nodes, signalingof control and Uu ports of the base station is reduced, continuity ofreceiving data is maintained for the UE, throughput of the UE isincreased, and increasing data communication requirements of the UE aresatisfied.

While the present disclosure has been shown and described with referenceto various embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilledin the art that various changes in form and details may be made thereinwithout departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure asdefined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

1. A method for performing a long-term evolution (LTE) and a wirelesslocal area network (WLAN) aggregation by a base station, the methodcomprising: determining to establish a WLAN aggregation for a userequipment (UE); sending, to a WLAN termination (WT), WLAN aggregationrequest information including at least one WLAN identifier; andreceiving, from the WT, WLAN aggregation response information indicatingan WT association confirmation in response to the WLAN aggregationrequest information.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the WLANaggregation request information further comprises at least one of: anidentifier of the UE, an identifier of a public land mobile network(PLMN) for the UE, eNB UE XwAP ID, and information of bearer on the basestation side.
 3. The method of claim 1, further comprising: sending, tothe WT, downlink data for the UE if the UE is associated with the WLANaccording to the WLAN aggregation response information.
 4. The method ofclaim 1, further comprising: receiving, from the WT, WLAN informationfor an WLAN node, the WLAN information including at least one of anidentifier of a WLAN node, and a maximum supported data ratecorresponding to the identifier of the WLAN node.
 5. The method of claim4, wherein the identifier of the WLAN node includes at least one of aservice set identifier (SSID), a basic SSID (BSSID), a homogeneousextended SSID (HESSID).
 6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:receiving, from the WT, status information for the WT, the statusinformation including at least one of a basic service set (BSS) load,and a channel utilization rate.
 7. A method for performing a long-termevolution (LTE) and a wireless local area network (WLAN) aggregation bya WLAN termination (WT), the method comprising: receiving, from a basestation, WLAN aggregation request information including at least oneWLAN identifier if the WLAN aggregation is determined to establish theWLAN aggregation for the UE; and sending, to the base station, WLANaggregation response information indicating an WT associationconfirmation in response to the WLAN aggregation request information. 8.The method of claim 7, wherein the WLAN aggregation request informationfurther comprises at least one of: an identifier of the UE, anidentifier of a public land mobile network (PLMN) for the UE, eNB UEXwAP ID, and information of bearer on the base station side.
 9. Themethod of claim 7, further comprising: receiving, from the base station,downlink data for the UE if the UE is associated with the WLAN accordingto the WLAN aggregation response information.
 10. The method of claim 7,further comprising: sending, to the base station, WLAN information foran WLAN node, the WLAN information including at least one of anidentifier of a WLAN node, and a maximum supported data ratecorresponding to the identifier of the WLAN node.
 11. The method ofclaim 10, wherein the identifier of the WLAN node includes at least oneof a service set identifier (SSID), a basic SSID (BSSID), a homogeneousextended SSID (HESSID).
 12. The method of claim 7, further comprising:sending, to the base station, status information for the WT, the statusinformation including at least one of a basic service set (BSS) load,and a channel utilization rate.
 13. A base station for performing along-term evolution (LTE) and a wireless local area network (WLAN)aggregation, the base station comprising: a transceiver for transmittingand receiving a signal; and a controller for determining to establish aWLAN aggregation for a user equipment (UE), sending, to a WLANtermination (WT), WLAN aggregation request information including atleast one WLAN identifier, and receiving, from the WT, WLAN aggregationresponse information indicating an WT association confirmation inresponse to the WLAN aggregation request information.
 14. The basestation of claim 13, wherein the WLAN aggregation request informationfurther comprises at least one of an identifier of the UE, an identifierof a public land mobile network (PLMN) for the UE, eNB UE XwAP ID, andinformation of bearer on the base station side.
 15. The base station ofclaim 13, wherein the controller is for sending, to the WT, downlinkdata for the UE if the UE is associated with the WLAN according to theWLAN aggregation response information.
 16. A wireless local area network(WLAN) termination (WT) for performing a long-term evolution (LTE) and aWLAN aggregation, the WT comprising: a transceiver for transmitting andreceiving a signal; and a controller for receiving, from a base station,WLAN aggregation request information including at least one WLANidentifier if the WLAN aggregation is determined to establish the WLANaggregation for the UE, and sending, to the base station, WLANaggregation response information indicating an WT associationconfirmation in response to the WLAN aggregation request information.17. The WT of claim 16, wherein the WLAN aggregation request informationfurther comprises at least one of an identifier of the UE, an identifierof a public land mobile network (PLMN) for the UE, eNB UE XwAP ID, andinformation of bearer on the base station side.
 18. The WT of claim 16,wherein the controller is for receiving, from the base station, downlinkdata for the UE if the UE is associated with the WLAN according to theWLAN aggregation response information.